Counter Crime Agencies in Finland Bust Cybercrime Ring

Article Written By: eccuni

Recently, counter crime agencies in Finland busted a cybercrime ring, which attempted to steal funds from accounts of legitimate banking customers. Attackers purportedly used a financial Trojan to extract login credentials of around 89 customers of Nordea Bank early last year. Iinformation security professionals of the bank were able to detect the fraudulent transactions and were successful in recovering substantial portion of the funds.

The cybercrime ring consisted of 17 offenders, of which counter crime agencies are likely to charge one for aggravated fraud and one another for aiding aggravated fraud. The two main accused are Estonian citizens. The remaining 15 offenders acted as money mules hired for transferring extracted funds to foreign bank accounts. Usually, cyber criminals hire local people as money mules for laundering stolen money through legitimate channels to avoid detection by law enforcement authorities.

Malware attacks are one of the common techniques used to extract financial information and siphon off funds from online banking accounts of legitimate customers. Attackers inject malware into user's computers through malicious files attached with cleverly crafted e-mails. The e-mails appear from a legitimate source and entice users to download attached file. Once unwary Internet users download the file, they inadvertently install malware on their computers. Recently, security researchers at Microsoft identified that on an average, one of every 14 programs downloaded involves malware.

Internet users must regularly update their web browsers in accordance with the security advisories issued by vendors. Using genuine software products and enabling automatic updates may help Internet users to safeguard their computers and sensitive data from malware attacks. Internet users must avoid clicking on suspicious links in e-mails, links on fake security alerts in pop-ups, and third-party advertisements on legitimate websites.

They must avoid responding to e-mails, which seek assistance in transferring money and offer a percentage of the funds as commission or fee in return. Internet users must confirm the authenticity of the e-mails seeking authentication information by directly contacting the legitimate bank. Counter crime agencies face the challenge of dealing with wide variety of cyber c rime cases.

Growing instances of cybercrime have resulted in increased demand for cyber security experts qualified in online IT degree, computer forensics and information security.

Banks must create awareness among customers on malware attacks, phishing and social engineering threats through advertisements and e-flyers. Professionals qualified in information security and IT degree programs may help in implementing appropriate fraud detection mechanisms.

Counter crime agencies may coordinate with banks, regulatory authorities and other stake holders to improve awareness among Internet users. Online IT courses may help IT professionals to update themselves on latest developments in IT security and implement necessary security mechanisms.

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